Austrian Zischägge/lobsterpot helmet

[Victrix]

Originally Posted by Dmitry

Victirix, that's a beautiful zischagge / burgonet.
I wonder why the neck protection on most of these helmets was composed from several lames, as opposed to a single piece of metal. It's certainly more time-consuming, more expensive to produce laminated armor than beat it out of a single piece.
Being that the articulated movement of the lames is unnecessary, my questions are:
Does laminating make the neck-piece stronger than a one-piece construction?
Does it make it lighter?
Does it make it easier to repair than one-piece construction?
What other benefits are to the laminated construction vs. one-piece?

One possible reason, in my opinion, is that lamination allowed for a better dispersion and/or absorption of force when struck, attenuating the kinetic energy applied to the neck piece, whereas the one-piece neck protection would not have that "give", and would transmit the force to the helmet body, potentially with a fatal result.

I’m not a professional expert on these matters but merely an amateur enthusiast with a curious mind. I have asked myself similar questions concerning these zischägge. Some general observations include: 1) these helmets were worn by light cavalry which were used for speed, aggressiveness, surveillance etc so they probably needed lighter kit which allowed for greater movement rather than thick armour, and 2) interestingly hussar cuirasses also tended to be created with overlapping lames so that was the technique used, which might have been similar to Ottoman and also Byzantic methods. I think the Ottomans were less keen on full plate armour suits and preferred mail, perhaps partly because of heat/ventilation considerations.

The lamination of the neck guard doesnÂ’t make it stronger but probably allows it to be lighter by using thinner lames which overlap rather than a large sheet of metal which needs to be thicker and heavier. The lamination makes it easier to tilt the head back to look high upwards towards mountain crests or castle towers. In the case of the cuirass it might be easier to produce with lames and require less artisan skills, and in addition it could be altered to fit the wearer.

Other possible reasons could be, as you suggest, that the lamination would absorb some of the shock if struck whereas a solid piece would force the head backwards if impacted. I had the curious idea that one could lie down to sleep with the laminated zischägge, which surely must not be relevant. But it would be relevant that a laminated neck guard might be preferable if thrown off the horse and landing on your back which might break your neck if you had a solid neck guard. I’m sure there are practical reasons for the laminated neck protection, even with the questionable need to bend one’s neck.